At the Crossroads
by TwoStrangeFanficWriters
Summary: What happens when a young Crowley meets a hopeless girl worth more to him than her soul? Rated M for possible Mature Content. This is a Lucy story...Sorry about the formatting, does not like to keep my formatting changes. .
1. So You've Come to Make a Deal

Harley was very drunk.  
She'd lost count of the number of drinks she'd had, and she suspected her companions had as well. There were a pack of five of them in all. And she was kind of the odd girl out here. The others wanted to try out this thing they'd read about in their class about medieval myths and legends.  
They each put in a photograph of themselves along with some gross stuff like bird bones and buried a box in a gravel crossroad.  
"This is so not gonna work." Andrea laughed, and Harley was struck with a fit of giggles herself.  
"What, are you scared?" Brian asked, coming over to join them.  
"Would you guys shut up?" Ashley asked. "Dylan's trying to call the demon."  
"Demon?" Harley asked. "Why do we want a demon?" She laughed at herself like a moron.  
Dylan began to chant in Latin, but nothing happened. They waited for a good while, maybe ten minutes, when Andrea piped up.  
"Can we go back? I'm bored."  
"No." Dylan said stubbornly. "Do you guys wanna be rich or not?"  
"This is stupid." Andrea said, but didn't move.  
"Give it a while, besides, we're not missing anything cool." Ashley said, twirling her hair.  
They sat in silence for a long while, with only the car's radio going, and watching the spot. Andrea played footsie with Brian and Harley began to sober up a bit. Ashley watched Dylan intently, obviously obsessed with him.  
"Guys, let's go back." Harley said. "Nothing's gonna happen." Something about the whole thing gave her the creeps. But it was all just nonsense, right?  
"One more try." Dylan said, and flipped open a book he snagged from the University library and read.  
And then it happened all too quickly. A man with black hair appeared out of nowhere. He was young, maybe only a little older than themselves, and dressed in a black dress shirt, trench coat, and an embroidered tie-which reflected the car headlights.  
"Oh, my, there are a lot of you, aren't there?" he said, in a rich Scottish accent.  
"We want to be billionaires." Dylan announced.  
"Don't we all, mate?" The demon was amused.  
"We summoned you, so you give us what we want." Ashley ordered.  
"Doesn't work like that, love." he said. "I need something in return."  
"Like what?" Andrea asked.  
"Your souls."  
"Ok," Dylan said. "I'll trade you my soul for money."  
"What? No." Andrea gasped.  
"Alright then. You're a billionaire." The demon handed him a slip of paper documenting billions of dollars worth of stocks. "But your life is forfeit." As he said this, he made a fist and Dylan collapsed to the ground; dead.  
"Dylan!" Ashley screamed. "How could you?" she rounded on the demon.  
"Oh, I know." the demon smirked. "So quickly. Usually I'd sic the dogs on him. Must be losing my touch. So what is it that you want, love?" he asked Ashley.  
"I want Dylan back. I want to be with him." she said, tears in her eyes.  
"And you're willing to forfeit your life?" he asked.  
"Yes...but I will be with him, won't I?"  
"Of course. I wouldn't lie." The demon said, and did the same to her. "Enjoy your lives together in Hell."  
As Ashley fell, Brian and Andrea jumped into Brian's car and sped off, leaving Harley with the corpses and the demon.  
"Any requests?" he asked her.  
Harley frowned.  
"What is it? Sad your friends are gone?" he made a move toward her but she backed up.  
"You...you didn't kiss them. You didn't deal with them." Her book had said that deals were sealed with a kiss.  
"No." the demon agreed. "But the stocks weren't real either. I just decided to kill them."  
"So why should I bother? You'll just kill me too, and mock me in the process."  
"Tell me," the demon watched her. "Why did you come here? Honestly, what did you think you'd be making a deal for?"  
"I don't know. I guess I didn't...I didn't know what I'd want."  
"Nothing? Fame? Fortune?" he came closer and Harley stood her ground.  
"I was drunk." she shrugged. "I didn't think any of this was real."  
"But if you could, what would you deal for?"  
"I don't know..." she said.  
"Not fame, or fortune? Maybe love?"  
"I wouldn't know who to ask for."  
"You really don't want anything?" he said.  
"I don't have anything that I want to risk my life for, no." she laughed. "I barely have a reason for living, let alone any special ambitions."  
"Why is that?" he asked, sidling up to her.  
"I'm an orphan with no life and no family. I attend college in hopes of having a chance at a decent job, but after that I don't even know what I want to do. I just exist without any real purpose."  
"What if I could give you a family? Bring your parents back?"  
"I don't even know what they're like. No. No thank you. Now if you don't mind, I'd like to start walking back if you're not going to kill me."  
"You really think you exist for nothing?" he asked.  
"Some people live." she said. "Others, are just here." She shrugged, and turned away from him. "I'm one of the latter."  
"So you've never believed in love or anything like that? No pleasure or real happiness?" he was intrigued.  
"Not for me."  
"I could show you love." he shrugged.  
"I told you, I wouldn't know who I was even looking for." she said, turning to back to face him.  
"No...I won't make someone fall for you. I'll just show you what it's like." he said.  
"What's the cost?"  
"Free of charge."  
"Why don't I trust that?" she asked, giving him a wry smile. "How do you benefit?"  
"I get to spend the night with a pretty girl." he shrugged. "I'd call that a plus."  
"So the deal is we both spend the night together and we both walk away with our lives unaffected afterwards and very much intact?"  
"Exactly."  
She stared at him for a moment. She'd never known any love, really, so the idea was certainly appealing. But he was still a demon; one who'd just killed her companions, even if they'd only just met. She didn't know what came over her, but she found herself drawn to him. She walked back over to him. She must have still been drunk.


	2. That's Amore

"Ok." she said.  
"Alright then." he smiled and closed the distance between them. "Let's just seal this agreement with a kiss." he murmured and kissed her softly. Something stirred in her when he kissed her, and she found that she liked it. She closed her eyes and kissed him again, feeling his hand hand smooth up her back and into her hair, while the other snaked up to touch her chin.  
When she opened her eyes, there were in a mansion.  
"Where are we?" she asked.  
"Somewhere more romantic." he said. "That gravel and field scene? A bit lackluster, don't you think?"  
"I liked the knowing where I was part of it." she muttered, looking around.  
He laughed. "It's alright, I promise I'll take you home tomorrow morning."  
"Yeah, and charge me and arm for it probably."  
"No charge, I swear." he said.  
"Fine. So I suppose you want to make with the sex then?" she asked.  
"I think you're missing the point of something being romantic." he commented. "I was thinking we'd do dinner first."  
"Whatever you want." she said, and he took her hand, transporting them to a small Italian restaurant with Dean Martin's _That's Amore_ playing.  
"Much better. Do you like wine?" he asked.  
"Sure, I like Chardonnay." she offered.  
"Wonderful." he said, and ordered them some. "What would you like to eat?"  
"I'll take some fetticini alfredo." she smiled in spite of herself. He ordered Manicotti for himself. "So where are we now?"  
"New York." he chucked. "But still romantic, don't you think?"  
"I will admit, the atmosphere is very nice."  
"I was thinking dancing after dinner." he said.  
"These clothes aren't much for dancing." she joked.  
"That's very true. Allow me to solve this problem." he pulled out his phone and within a few minutes a man appeared with a box. "I guessed your measurements, love, hopefully it fits." he said.  
She took the box to the restroom and inside the box was a soft pink colored cocktail dress with flowers embroidered on one shoulder. It fit perfectly.  
"You must be good at guessing." she commented as she rejoined him.  
"I appreciate a lady's curves." he smirked. "I do hope you like pink?"  
"Yeah." she smiled. "I do like pink, or at least, this pink."  
The waiter appeared with their food not a moment later and the demon simply turned to her and said, "Tuck in."  
"Mmm..." she said as she took her first bite. "This is seriously good."  
"Would I take you someplace that wasn't?"  
"I barely know you." she laughed. "How would I know that?"  
"Speaking of which, I wanted to ask you; why did you decide to go with me? By all rights you should hate me for killing your friends."  
"For one thing, I only just met them a week ago. And for another...I don't know. I guess...I guess I just have problems or something." She shook her head. "That and I was curious."  
"Curious?"  
"Well...I guess for someone who has nothing to live for the proposition of having something is...intriguing. Even if it's just for one night."  
"I will give you that. So you really think you have nothing?"  
"I think that I am nothing. I just sort of float along with the tide. I feel nothing, and do nothing to contribute. I just exist."  
"There you go saying you 'just exist'. Hasn't anyone or anything ever made you feel otherwise?" the demon leaned in.  
"Well...there was one guy back in high school. We only dated through the summer, but I thought I was in love with him. Only to discover he was cheating on me with two other girls. I was crushed." she looked at her feet. "Around the same time my foster parents sent me on to a different house and a different school. I sort of promised myself that I wouldn't get that attached again."  
"Because a rock feels no pain?" he was sarcastic.  
"Guess so." She took a sip of wine. "It's like I forgot how to feel anything."  
"Well let me help you remember." They'd finished eating, so he took her hand and guided her up to the dance floor. "Please tell me you know how to dance?"  
"Nothing fancy, but I know how to slow dance." she said.  
"Good enough." he smiled, and put one hand on her hip, and took her other hand in his.  
"So...what's your name anyways?" she asked.  
"Why do you need to know it so you can scream it later?" he joked.  
"Sure." she rolled her eyes.  
"They call me Crowley."  
"My name's Harley." she said.  
"Harley." It sounded like he was tasting the word. "I like it."  
"So what made you decide to spare me?"  
"You seemed different than the others." he shrugged. "Gorgeous...not an idiot...the list goes on and on."  
"You think I'm gorgeous?"  
"You don't? Darling, you really do have problems." he twirled her.  
"Well, you're still dancing with me."  
"That's because I have problems too." he pulled her up to him so that they were touching chests and kissed her. She felt a smile play across her lips, thus sparking one from him.  
"You really know how to woo a woman." she teased against his lips.  
"The Scottish accent does half the work." he assured her.  
"That does help." she grinned, looking into his brown eyes. They were filled with a gentle humor you wouldn't expect out of a demon. Warm, too. He looked at her in a way that no one else ever had; with an interest that no one else had ever taken and she felt like she could fly.  
"You know something?" he asked, as the accordion music swelled, "You really are beautiful."  
"I don't know about that." she blushed. "I've never thought of myself as special."  
"No." he insisted. "There's something about you when you smile."  
"You really think so?"  
"Really."  
"You're not just saying it to get in my pants or something?"  
"No. In fact, if you don't want to have sex, we won't." he said. "Love and sex...well, they're not the same thing. Love is the part that comes after the sex. The holding each other, talking about life, and just feeling together." He shrugged. "Sex is all well and good, and fun, but love is much more than sex."  
"You know, you're a lot nicer than I expected you to be after killing the people I was with..."  
"Yeah, well, I just really hate idiots, and I don't get the feeling you're an idiot."  
"The fact that I'm here should tell you I am."  
"No, sweetheart, you're not stupid like they are. They're like cattle. You're desperate, but you're not stupid."  
"Yeah," she looked at her shoes, "I suppose you're right."  
"I guess I just wondered what could make you feel so empty. I mean, you're smart, and you're careful, but you just seemed so...lost."  
Tears sprang to her eyes, and she bid herself not to cry and act like a fifteen year old girl.  
"So I decided I wanted to find you." His hand left her hip and lifted her chin up. "Teach you what it is to feel again." he kissed her softly.  
"So I'm just a girl that needs saving?" she asked.  
"Not unless you think you are." his eyes were kind. "I'm just saying I want to show you the world. Shining, shimmering, splendid."  
"So show me then." she said, smiling in spite of her watering eyes.  
"All right then. Close your eyes, and I'll take you on a magic carpet ride." he said and she obeyed, wondering where he'd whisk them off next.


	3. Interrupted

Before she opened her eyes, she heard a soft but very distinct sound.  
"Is that...are we in a bowling alley?" she asked, opening her eyes.  
"We most certainly are." he laughed. "In Vegas. I figured we'd bowl, and then sleep at my place."  
"Sounds wonderful. I haven't bowled since...well...only once really." She found herself surprisingly excited about the whole affair.  
"Really, when did you bowl the once?" he asked.  
"Well...back in high school, when I dated that guy." she shrugged. "It was fun."  
"Well I promise it'll be more fun this time." he said, handing her a pair of shoes. She put them on and they began bowling. They were about half way through a game when a small group of tough looking guys approached them.  
"Can I help you, gentlemen?" Crowley asked.  
"Since when did you spend so much time playing with your victims?"  
"Since I felt like it, thanks."  
"Yeah, well I suggest you kill her and be done with it because I have work for you."  
"But sire, I didn't even get to sleep with her yet!" Crowley protested.  
"I don't care, Crowley. You will do as I say. Finish up here and meet me at the building I showed you a week ago." he snapped, and vanished; his cronies vanishing after him. Crowley sighed and Harley took a step back.  
"Looks like the night is cut short. Sorry, love." he said.  
"Sorry? I should have known you were gonna kill me anyway." she snapped.  
"You misunderstand me. I have no intention of killing you, but I do have to take you home now. So tell me love, where is home?"  
"Take me back to that crossroad." she said. "I'll walk back."  
"In the dark?"  
"It's nearly sunrise there by now, surely." she said.  
"True I suppose." he sighed. "As you wish." He took them back to the crossroads where they first met.  
"Goodbye and good luck." he said, and kissed her quickly on the lips. He vanished again and she started home, unsure what to feel about the whole thing. Her feet were sore less than a mile in the walk back when a car pulled over.  
"I've been ordered to take you home." A lovely black-haired woman said.  
"By who?"  
"Crowley."  
"I'm fine thanks." she said, turning away.  
"Look, he wasn't specific on how I was to take you home little girl, so I wouldn't mind doing things the hard way." the woman snapped.  
"Fine." She got in the car and had the woman take her back to the school, but she refused to let her take her to the proper dorm.  
"It doesn't matter. If he wants to, he'll find you again." The woman said. "So don't bother trying to be so secretive."  
"We'll just see about that." Harley said, and left for her dorm.


	4. Hot Like Mexico

Author's Note: I really, really hate the way forces you to not indent your paragraphs. :/

It was two years before Harley would see him again.  
She was living in Mexico now, and making her way through odd jobs. She and her roommate Maria had gone down to Mexico to visit Maria's family and never left. They'd gotten an apartment in Maria's aunt's rundown apartment complex, and Harley didn't think she'd ever leave. No one checked on whether or not she belonged there, and frankly she doubted anyone cared.  
"Usually it isn't an American living illegally in Mexico." Maria had laughed. "So I doubt they'll even think to check on your papers."  
And so they still hadn't when Harley found herself sitting in the apartment alone, Maria at work. It was late, but Maria was working third shift so she wouldn't be home until midmorning at least. Harley was in bed half asleep when she heard the sound of huge dogs barking outside their window. Nobody had dogs around here, and they sounded exceptionally frightening. She sat up staring into the darkness in a dead horror she couldn't explain.  
"It can't be." she murmured, a word from that class she took hanging off her lips. "Hellhounds." But he had promised she'd walk away alive...that it didn't cost anything. Harley leaped from her bed, ran to the crappy little kitchen, and began pouring salt lines by the windows when the door was ripped open by a massive dog.  
It was all twisted and horrifying, like nothing she could possibly imagine. It was jet black with fierce red eyes and what seemed to be endless amounts of teeth. Its claws were impossibly gnarled and cruel, and she backed away in horror, knowing this was the end. It paused to snarl, crushing the door as it eyed her.  
"Oh please..." she whispered to no one in particular, when the lights flickered and she closed her eyes, preparing herself for the worst.  
"Hello, Darling." she recognized the smooth voice and her eyes snapped open. Crowley gave her a quick smile before turning to the dog. "Down boy." he said, and the dog backed off.  
"You...I don't understand." she said, still trembling from her near-death experience.  
"I'm here to save your life." he said, holding his arms out dramatically.  
"But...isn't it your...why does it need saving?" she asked. "When we made that deal...my life didn't hang in the balance. Or my soul rather."  
"No, but we made another deal."  
"Since...why don't I remember this?" she snapped. "Did you drug me or something?"  
"No, no, love it's nothing like that." he sighed. "In fact, I didn't realize I'd have to collect your soul."  
"But...but how? How could I make a deal and not know?" she asked.  
"Don't feel bad, thousands of people made the same mistake that you did." He put a hand on her shoulder. "You didn't read the Terms of Agreement."  
"For what?"  
"iTunes." Her jaw dropped at this.  
"This is a joke, right?"  
"I wish it was." he said solemnly. "At least, I assume you wouldn't sell your soul for 99 cent songs if you had read the Terms of Agreement."  
"You...what was this like some kind of evil demon plan?"  
"Yes. It only just barely worked too. If one less person had signed up I couldn't be King of the Crossroads."  
"What is this some kind of contest?" she demanded.  
"No, it's a real title, love. It makes you a big deal, Down Under, if you know what I mean. But I didn't know that your soul was in the balance too." He ran a hand through his hair.  
"So you're telling me if you don't collect my soul you don't get the major Hellspawn title?" she couldn't meet his gaze.  
"That's exactly right." He wasn't looking at her either.  
"What happens if you don't get it?"  
"I have to come up with another way to get ten thousand souls to make a deal with me on the same day. Not an easy task. In fact, if you'd signed up a day before or later you wouldn't be...so necessary."  
"So what now? You gonna kill me then, or call back your puppy?"  
"Haven't decided." he said. "I don't want to kill you...but this is a big break for me. It sounds stupid, but it makes my existence so much less miserable. But of course if I follow through with it...it makes yours incredibly miserable."  
"And so you're debating whether or not you care about that." she said.  
"Bingo."  
"I see...well don't expect any advice from me. After all, I'm a little biased." she scowled.  
"I thought you didn't care about whether you lived or died. I thought you were just, how did you put it? Existing."  
"Yeah and I'd rather continue it on Earth instead of Hell, thanks." Harley retorted.  
He chuckled. "So you actually care what happens to you now then?"  
"Yes." She thought of Maria, and Maria's family. All of those kids she'd come to know the names of, and her neighbors, and how they were just existing too.  
And suddenly she became horrified to think about not seeing them all at the same times every day or every week. She thought about all of those nights where she and Maria would go and see those children of Maria's aunt, and how sometimes she herself would go alone. Tears came to her eyes. They all would scream her name when she arrived, and tackle her. To think of that as being gone...the thought was almost unbearable. "I do care what happens to me now." She felt the tears slip past her eyes to trickle down her cheeks. She wiped at them angrily, and he wrapped his arms around her and sighed.  
"So tell me, what is it that changed your mind? I mean, what brought you to Mexico?"  
"Nothing at all. I came down here on a whim with my roommate and we never left." she said. "Maria has family down here...she wanted to see them and she invited me along. I guess I never thought I'd grow to love them like this." she said, sniffling in spite of herself. "And my neighbors here...they're all just like me. Just living. If something happens, it happens, but until then we'll all just live here together."  
"So you've found some people to love." he said. "I see."  
"It sounds stupid." she agreed but he shook his head.  
"Naw, it sounds like the best thing that can happen to a person. I might be a businessman through and through but that doesn't sound like a stupid thing to me. People will do crazy things for the people they care about...so I suppose that's why I'll let you live. I'll give up my title and try again."  
"You...will?"  
"What can I say? I've got a soft spot for you, kid." he ran a hand through her hair. "So in all this time in Mexico, did you ever find a man to take your fancy?" He was teasing her now.  
"No, I...I couldn't get someone else out of my head." she said.  
"Oh?" She pulled his head down to hers and kissed him, hard. "Oh." He said, smiling as he leaned forward to kiss her again.  
She let all of those sleepless nights of wondering whether she'd ever see him again out in the form of heated passion as she attacked his lips. He didn't seem to mind in the slightest, backing them into her room, and laying back onto her bed and pulling her on top of him.  
She pressed him into the tousled sheets as she kept kissing him. Her hands roamed, and began unbuttoning his coat. He sat up so she could tug it off of him and undid his tie for her. He slid her pajama shirt off of her, and kissed the space between her breasts, reverently. She finally unbuttoned his shirt and exposed his flesh to the cool desert air. He undid her bra, and ran his hands over her. She laughed as he flipped her over and went for her pajama pants. She was down to her panties now as she wrestled his slacks off.  
Both down to their underwear, she flipped them again, straddling him and rubbing their clothed bodies together. She smirked as she could tell he was getting excited, and he responded by kissing the smirk off her face and running his fingers teasingly through the straps on her panties. Finally she climbed off of him to pull his boxers down and he stripped the last piece of clothing off of her as well.  
When they met again, it started out slow until it raised into a symphony. They moved together like a storm, until each began to lose control and they were derailed by the pleasure coursing through their bodies. She gasped as it hit her, and spasmed through her like she'd been struck by lightning. He moaned himself as it took him by force too, and they were both left panting and exhausted by the galestorm of their own passion.  
She laughed at her own delight, and he smiled with her, and they lay together in a happy kind of silence.  
"You know, I should probably fix that door before Maria gets home." She commented, as she lay in his arms.  
"I'll order some no life demon to do it."  
"Oh, ho, but you're not the King of the Crossroads yet." She told him and he groaned.  
"I suppose you're right." He sighed. "Be right back." He vanished and reappeared in a few seconds.  
"I fixed the door." He said.  
"But how-?"  
"Demon, remember?" he kissed her again and she giggled.  
"Guess so." She closed her eyes and relaxed in his warm embrace.  
"It has its perks." He said, and closed his own eyes.  
"Mmm…" she said sleepily, losing her cognitive abilities to weariness. He kissed her head one last time before they drifted off to sleep.


	5. Morning Afters

When she awoke, she was in his arms and her alarm was going off. She groped for it and shut it off.  
"Good morning, beautiful." Crowley said in a voice huskier than his usual voice.  
"Morning." It appeared she was suffering from the same problem. She smiled at the thought.

"Gotta get ready for work?" he asked.

"Yeah." she rolled off of him and ran a hand through her hair before turning to him. "Join me for a shower?"

"Gladly." he clambered from the bed and joined her in the bathroom, kissing and running his hands over her still naked body.

"So I forgot to tell you, I like the bleach highlights in your hair." he said. "Looks good with the black. And I see you've added a dragon on your back as well."

"Yeah...bit cliche," she commented. "But I like it."

"Me too." he ran his hand over the faded blue color of the dragon and she giggled. She turned away from him and turned the water on, climbing into the actual shower itself. He joined her as she began to wet her hair. He grabbed her shampoo, spinning her around and lathering it into her hair. She grinned as he helped her wash the shampoo out of her hair. She snagged the shampoo and put some in his hair, rubbing it through his short black hair before linking her soapy hands behind his head and pulling his face down to hers to kiss him. She turned him around so the water ran mostly over him and helped him rinse the shampoo from his hair.

"Oh lovely, now I'll smell like Jasmine Dreams all day." he complained as he looked at the bottle.

"And Cherry Blossoms." she said as she put conditioner in his hair. He laughed and put some in hers as well and as they washed their hair she felt him growing excited again.

"Looking for a little, 'morning after'?" she teased, pressing up against him.

"Are we sure I'm the only one, love?"

She giggled as he took her again, with as much fervor as the night before. She threw back her head as she came again, her hair sticking to his chest. She could hear him grunt behind her as he himself reached his peak. He pulled out and she turned and coated him with soap.

"I'm going to smell like a girl all day." He sighed.

"Then everyone will know you got lucky." she said. "Twice."

"True that." he was washing her when she heard her apartment door open.

"It's Maria." she told him. "She works third shift."

"Will this be awkward?" he asked.'

"No." Harley laughed. "She'll just laugh at us."

"All right then." he smiled, as she switched the water off and handed him a towel, snagging two for herself and putting her hair up and drying herself off. She opened a small closet in the bathroom and put a robe on. He wrapped the towel around his waist and joined her on the way back to her room.

"Morning." Maria told them, guffawing helplessly at Harley. Harley stuck her tongue out at her before disappearing into her room.

"He's a cute one!" Maria called after her, as they both went to get dressed. Harley smiled and shook her head, dressing in her restaurant uniform.

"Be seeing you later, love. Have a good day at work." He kissed her and vanished. She decided to blow dry her hair before heading into work for the day.


	6. Crowley

Author's Note: Thought I'd try a little of Crowley's perspective. What do you think? Kind of experimenting here.

Crowley reappeared in his mansion accompanied by a flicker of lights. His most loyal follower, a demon named Riley, was waiting for him in a new skin. This time Riley was a gangly nerdy boy, and Crowley had to hide his amusement at his choice of vessels.  
"Can I help you, Riley?" he asked.  
"You gave up the title?" Riley asked.  
"Yeah, well, I can do better than just barely passing." Crowley shrugged.  
"That's funny, because that was not what you seemed to be feeling yesterday." Riley was annoyed. "Dammit, Crowley, we could have had half of Hell bowing to our power."  
"We're going to have all of it bowing to us one day."  
"When? I mean, I might have eternity, but I don't fancy spending much more of it cowing to those bastards."  
"I know," Crowley sighed. "But it's not very impressive if I only _just _pass."  
"Well you'd better think of something gold. Because if you don't Priscilla is gonna eat your ass with a side of eternal torment."  
"I know that! I've got an idea, and I think the right person to help me. Trust me, this will work."  
"You sure about it?"  
"Dead sure. The humans will eat this up." he promised.  
"Fine, then, genius, what is this big plan?"  
"It's called, Facebook."  
"Facebook?"  
"Yes. It's social networking via the internet."  
"Why would anyone want that?"  
"Because humans love that kind of thing. Being able to project themselves to everyone else and pretending that other people are keeping up with their daily lives. I mean, look at Myspace. Facebook will be a hit like no other."  
"Right, well, I suppose it's worth a shot. Who's the boy you're thinking of?"  
"Mark Zuckerberg. It's the creator. I think with a little guidance from me, he can become a formidable force indeed."  
"And you'll be King of the Crossroads?"  
"Yup, and then one day, I'll be King of Hell."  
They both laughed at the thought.  
"Provided old Lucifer is out of the picture." Crowley sighed.  
"Yeah, well, rumors say there are those who would have him sprung from his cage...and jump start the apocalypse." Riley said.  
"Let's just hope they're just rumors." Crowley said. "I for one, would prefer to keep things quiet while swindling the humans periodically."  
Riley laughed. "Always a businessman. And what is a businessman without his clientele?"  
"Exactly." Crowley wandered over to pour himself a drink of his favorite scotch.  
"So...there's another issue."  
"And what would that be?" He raised his eyebrows.  
"That girl of yours."  
"What about her? She's just a toy." He tried to keep all concern out of his voice.  
"You sure? I mean, I'm not judging you mate; Heaven knows I've had a few more serious flings myself."  
"What about her?"  
"Well, they might try to use her against you, mate." Riley said. "I'm just looking out for you. I mean, that's what we do. I help you climb to stardom and you give me a nice position when you're there."  
"Yeah. Thanks for the warning, mate." Crowley clapped Riley on the shoulder, trying not to think of what Priscilla and her goons might try to do to Harley. He couldn't explain his attachment to the girl, but he'd be damned if anyone else laid a damn finger on her.  
"So this toy of yours, she have a name?"  
"Yeah it's-" Riley put up his hand.  
"No, the correct answer is no. Why should she? She's just a toy." Riley said sternly.  
"Right, right." Crowley realized his mistake.  
"Man, she's got you good." Riley laughed.  
"Oh shut it." Crowley smiled in spite of himself.  
"But still, you gotta pretend you're just using her for sex...or better yet, own her. Make sure her soul is yours and yours alone. That's the only way to keep her safe." Riley said.  
"Not a bad idea. I'll talk to her." Crowley said and disappeared.


End file.
